Tiffany sues Costco over sales of engagement rings

February 14, 2013 5:25 PM ET.

By Bernard Vaughan and Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Tiffany & Co sued Costco Wholesale Corp on Thursday to
stop the largest U.S. warehouse club chain from selling what it called
counterfeit diamond engagement rings bearing the luxury retailer's
name.

The trademark lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court also calls on
Costco to forfeit profits from the ring sales, plus damages of $2
million per infringement.

Tiffany said it believes hundreds, if not thousands, of Costco members
bought engagement rings they believed were authentic Tiffany products
but in fact were not.

Luxury retailers often sue to stop sales of alleged imitation products
they believe cut into their own revenue streams and customer goodwill.

"This is not the kind of behavior people expect from a company like
Costco, and this case will shed a much needed light on this outrageous
behavior," said Jeffrey Mitchell, a lawyer for Tiffany.

Mitchell also noted in the statement that Tiffany maintains an
"aggressive and rigorous intellectual property program, and regularly
takes actions against counterfeiters and infringers."

A spokesman for Costco was not immediately available.

In November 2012, a person who was shopping at a Costco in Huntington
Beach, Calif., complained to Tiffany that she was disappointed to see
Costco offering for sale what were promoted on in-store signs as
Tiffany diamond engagement rings, according to the lawsuit.

A subsequent investigation revealed rings in a display case at the
Huntington Beach Costco labeled with the Tiffany brand and that a
salesperson there referred to them as Tiffany rings when they were
not, according to the lawsuit. Tiffany also discovered that Costco was
not using the Tiffany trademarks online for the same products at the
same time to avoid detection, according to the lawsuit.

The case is Tiffany & Company and Tiffany (NJ +0.35%, news) LLC v.
Costco Wholesale Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New
York, 13-1041